94 Camry Running on 3 cylinders

[laksh99]

Hi,

My car (94 Camry) had some kind of pinging and knocking whenever, I idle for long and it suffers to accelerate when I am trying to go on a steep uphill. However under normal driving conditions it seemed to run properly. This was the case for last two weeks or so. I had been real busy to take mycar to a mechanic. Finally, I took it to one today. He inspected my car for a few seconds and told me that it is running only on 3 cylinders. But, he didnt have the time to fix it. He has asked me to come next monday. I asked him how much it would cost and he told me that he can give me a quote only after he inspects it fully on monday.

Anyone have any idea what it could be and how much it will cost?
I have been using my car for last 2 + weeks on 3 cylinders ...will it have a very bad effect on the engine life?

[toyomoho]

If the engine were always running on 3 cylinders, it would idle very rough all the time. But should not ping or knock at idle. Is the car overheating when idling for a long time or going up a hill?

If one cylinder is not working, the cause could be an injector problem or ignition. A remanufactured fuel injector costs around $40, a new one $120 and up. Ignition parts would not be that much.

If you fix the problem soon enough, the engine should be OK. Best not to drive with the engine knocking and pinging for too long.

[ASG14]

My '92 I4 at ine time ran on 3 cyl when a wire went bad. IF it was running on 3 cyl, you'd know it. No matter what speed I went, it felt like the car was going to fall apart fron the shaking and noise.

When did you last have a tuneup? (Plugs/wires/cap/rotor)

[Mike Gerber]

If it is only an ignition system problem (spark plug or spark plug wire) it won't be too expensive to fix. An injector will be a bit more. Pinging is always bad for the engine and could result in expensive internal engine damage. Your mechanic is correct in saying he can't tell what is wrong until he really inspects it.

Also, don't drive it any more, as has been suggested above. You could be causing internal engine damage as I mentioned above, if it has not been caused already. At the very least, you will ruin the cat converter, as that's where the unburned fuel form the missing cylinder ends up.

Mike

[bill23435]

I had the same problem twice on my 94. Both times it was the #1 igniton wire. When was the last time you changed them?